With one foot on the dance floor and the other in the land of serious art-rock, Bloc Party can come across as one of the more oddly constructed hybrids on the current rock scene. On this sophomore set, however, the British quartet prove themselves capable of straddling that line with grace in order to stride purposefully into uncharted territory. A Weekend in the City...
Read moreWith one foot on the dance floor and the other in the land of serious art-rock, Bloc Party can come across as one of the more oddly constructed hybrids on the current rock scene. On this sophomore set, however, the British quartet prove themselves capable of straddling that line with grace in order to stride purposefully into uncharted territory. A Weekend in the City is something of a concept album, focused on life in the postmodern urban jungle -- which frontman Kele Okereke approaches with a mixture of tension and anger that'd do the {|Gang of Four|} proud. On "Hunting for Witches," the singer takes on the persona of a man driven to distraction by the specter of terrorism -- a verge-of-madness vibe that's enhanced by both roller-coaster guitars and snippets of TV news audio-verité. There's a similarly nihilistic bent to "The Prayer," an exorcism of sorts that deploys noisy guitar depth charges and maddeningly poppy handclaps at equally regular intervals -- typical of the band's smart-yet-sensual approach. Okereke's soft, supple vocals exude plenty of the latter, particularly when carrying one of the disc's more pared-down ballads -- the most effective of which is the woozy morning-after "Sunday." Wry without being hammy and political without falling into sloganeering, A Weekend in the City is an impressively mature collection of songs, one that's sure to sound as bracing years down the line as it does now.
Brand: VICE RECORDS
